Monthly Archives: October 2015

We have all heard from teachers that cheating is not good. However, each of us has cheated at least once in a lifetime. It was in school, college, university, or work.

In our modern society, the roots of cheating lie in the unethical competition. It has been investigated by David Callahan, famous American political scientist and author of the books The Cheating Culture and The Moral Center. In the book The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead, he noted that modern society, especially American society, characterized by critical inequality and a winner-take-all philosophy. It produces the cheating that has been observed in education, business, law, journalism, science and medicine. All students want higher results for most prestigious university and more payable job. Some of the people in order to achieve better objectives, than they deserve, use these unethical actions such as cheating, writing off and plagiarism. It breaks the principle of social fairness.

Nowadays there exists a whole plagiarism industry for students. On the Internet you can find many sites in this branch. These sites offer you “education” services. For example, there you can pay and get 24 hour essay writing for you. Also on the Internet you can find gadgets, apps and technologies for cheating. So, this shows that some people are ready tolerate cheating and plagiarism, because “the end justifies the means”. But this is a wrong way, because cheating harms you more than helps.

Academic society has failed to clearly articulate why academic dishonesty is wrong. And academic society has failed to convince most students of genuine commitment to academic fairness. This is not surprising, because as noted by David Callahan: “In my opinion, when the well-known, influential people are dishonest, it once again convinces the youth that cheating is acceptable.”

So, why is cheating harmful for you, if it could be a way to get into prestigious university or take a good job?

First of all, you should ask yourself: What is the purpose of a good education, and especially your education? Is it not to prepare students for adult life, teach them to analyze and solve problems in the professional field?

Boys and girls, who learned to write off, will be not able to master these valuable skills. Cheating is a great self-deception, because you believe that you have more knowledge and skills than you actually have. It is pretty risky for you. People, who become used to dishonesty, simply mask their weakness, limiting their chances of success in different fields of their life.

Cheating is not only self-deception. It is also the deception of parents, teachers, other students and the educational system in general. Cheaters receive through deception, what honest students work hard for. It depreciates the diploma and education in all, because value of education lies in student’s efforts to get knowledge and skills. And cheating as well as any other deception will be revealed sooner or later. Among other things, the cheaters risk of being caught and subsequently this will certainly lead to bad consequences. So at the least they will experience embarrassment and shame.

Cheating causes dependence of the Internet, gadgets and other people. Just imagine. What will you do in the situation when no one will be near you, who could you ask to help? You will be helpless. It will be pretty problem situation.

Also, cheating leads to lack of originality and then, as a consequence, the decline of intelligence. So, originality is more important than school grades. David Callaghan said, that “the one who from childhood was looking for easy ways, such unfair doing in school, can be guided by the habit and workplace.” This type of people can be compared with fake watches or clothes that are good only in appearance.

How can you overcome the desire of cheating in education?

Honesty is the key to success. First of all, you should decide what is more important to you: easy grades or skills and knowledge. If you want to achieve success, you should be patient, because only hard efforts can give what you really deserve.